51�������

Although it is one of the smaller members in a family of very small birds, the Rufous Hummingbird is notably pugnacious. The male Rufous Hummingbird, glowing like a new copper penny, often defends a patch of flowers in a mountain meadow, vigorously chasing away all intruders (including larger birds). This hummingbird also nests farther north than any other species: up to south-central Alaska. Of the various typically western hummingbirds, the Rufous Hummingbird is the one that wanders most often to eastern North America, with many now found east of the Mississippi every fall and winter.